National News

The U.S. Department of the Treasury soon will pay all federal benefit and nontax payments electronically. If you’re applying for federal benefits, like Social Security or Veterans Affairs benefits, you must choose an electronic payment method at the time you apply for your benefit. If you are currently receiving federal benefit checks, you must switch to electronic payments by March 1, 2013.

NAMI Family-to-Family 20th Anniversay Tribute Book

You are invited to contribute as we celebrate the exceptional journey of the Family-to-Family (F2F) Education program at the NAMI Convention in Chicago. We kick-off the celebration during the Research Plenary at which time Joyce Burland, Ph.D. will receive the NAMI Distinguished Services Award.

“The story of Family-to-Family, NAMI’s educational program for families of people living with mental illness, is a story that has spread through the grassroots grapevine…No other national peer-taught course has ever reached this stage of being recognized as an evidence-based practice. If we are now able to say that our twelve-week course lowers participants’ ratings of anxiety, distress and depression, it is because our volunteer work force has been so dedicated to maintaining the fidelity of a program that enables families to come out of the dark and deal much more directly with the realities that they have – a change in consciousness that would sound mystical if you didn’t know how much on-the-ground work it takes.”

-NAMI Wisconsin F2F Program Newsletter

Please join with us in our celebration. We want to hear from class participants/graduates, teachers, trainers, program coordinators, and members of the general public who have been so instrumental in promoting the program in your community. We know there are thousands of you out there!

State Mental Health Cuts: A National Crisis

The recent tragic shooting of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and the killing of six innocent citizens in Arizona focused national attention on the state of the public mental health system in Arizona and other states. Many asked how a tragedy like this could happen again, with chilling references to Virginia Tech. How did Jared Loughner fall through the cracks when the signs of a serious psychiatric crisis seemed so clear?

Mental Health in the New Federal Budget

On February 14th, 2011, President Obama released his budget for fiscal Year 2012. The new budget includes $535 million for prevention services to counter behavioral health issues among children and young adults, and an additional $154 million allocated for mental and behavioral health services for the homeless, including support for transition into permanent housing. Also in the budget is a new $10 million initiative to improve military members' access to mental health services, including prevention, treatment and recovery.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has issued a Dear State Medicaid Director letter that provides preliminary guidance for States on the implementation of ACA section 2703 entitled “State Option to Provide Health Homes for Enrollees with Chronic Conditions."

Justice Department Obtains Comprehensive Agreement Regarding the State of Georgia's Mental Health and Developmental Disability System

WASHINGTON - The Justice Department today announced that it has entered into a comprehensive settlement agreement that will transform the state of Georgia’s mental health and developmental disability system and resolve a lawsuit the United States brought against the state. The lawsuit alleged unlawful segregation of individuals with mental illness and developmental disabilities in the state’s psychiatric hospitals in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Olmstead v. L.C.